The Growing Role of Geophysics
The use of geophysical methods in petroleum exploration continues to expand and is an integral discipline in the discovery and production of oil and gas deposits. We have seen a…
Worldwide
Technology: Changing exploration – using non-seismic technology
The main purpose of applying EM data is to improve exploration decision making. “As a geoscientist working in an oil company which values integration, we try to maximise the use…
Understanding electro-magnetic surveys
Electromagnetic surveying is one of the least well understood of the non-seismic exploration techniques. There are various acquisition choices to be made – for example it can be undertaken using…
The Next Generation Subsurface Modelling
Modelling reservoirs using a 3D grid is a common tool for both the geologist and the reservoir engineer. As models increase in structural and stratigraphic complexity the process of creating…
Yes We Can
GEO ExPro has now, thanks to an overwhelming response from readers and advertisers, been published for five years. We started in 2004, and since then we have (including this edition)…
Using 4D Seismic
4D geophysics, in particular 4D seismic, has come of age. Repeated surveys with or without permanent receivers are now increasingly being used in monitoring production. This applies in particular to…
Another Giant – and More to be Found
Giants – oil and gas fields with more than 500 million boe in reserves – are no longer a thing of the past. Just before we went to print, BP…
The Great Crew Change
The professional workforce in the hydrocarbon industry is aging and over half of today’s workforce will retire within the next 10 years. This ‘brain gap’ must be addressed before it…
Is Peak Oil Still a Concern?
The first of the Geocontroversies debates held at the Petroleum Geology Conference in London earlier this year brought up some interesting arguments and ideas around the concept of ‘Peak Oil’.…
Where does it all come from?
The existence of a source rock is a prerequisite for finding oil and gas. Without a source, the prospect, the play or the basin is bound to be “dry”. An…
Possible Oversupply
Peak oil will happen, eventually, but possibly not before the 2030s. In the meantime, we may be faced with oversupply, partly driven by increased production in Iraq. Energy Statistics Rystad…
Mid Cretaceous Source Rock Enigma
Large-scale volcanism caused by a superplume in the mantle was possibly responsible for wide-spread deposition of excellent source rocks in Mid-Cretaceous times. Organic rich source rocks buried deep in sedimentary…